UN IPCC: renewable energy potential is higher than energy demand

09.05.2011

The total global potential for renewable energy "is substantially higher than both current and future projected global energy demand" is the message of the Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation released by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) today in Abu Dhabi.

The report states that renewable energy production will increase "anywhere from roughly three-fold to more than ten-fold by 2050."

The IPCC's experts on energy and climate science reported that almost half of the new electricity production capacity installed in the world in the two year period 2008-2009 was renewable sources (140 Gigawatts of 300 Gigawatts).

The panel experts stated that 19% of the total global electricity supply came from renewable energy in 2008. The share of renewable energy rose to 12.9% of the global primary energy production and provided more than six times more than the global nuclear energy production at 2%.

"During the last two years, our industry installed new wind farms producing electricity equivalent to more than 25 nuclear power stations," said Christian Kjaer, Chief Executive Officer of EWEA in Abu Dhabi. "More importantly, the world's leading scientists have now confirmed that this is merely the beginning of a development that could see wind power providing in excess of 20% of global electricity supply."

EWEA is the voice of the wind industry, actively promoting wind power in Europe and worldwide. It has over 600 members, which are active in over 50 countries, making EWEA the world's largest and most powerful wind energy network.